Comparing IFRS to GAAP
Tina M. Abriani
ACC/291
August 8, 2016
Professor Michael Barsch
Introduction
IFRS is an acronym that stands for International Financial Reporting Standards. It is a set of accounting standards, developed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They are applied on a globally consistent basis and thus the global standard for the preparation of public company financial statements.
GAAP, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, is a common set of accounting principles, standards, and procedures that companies must follow when they compile their financial statements. It helps in improving the clarity of the communication of financial information and also in ensuring a minimum level of consistency in a company 's financial statements, which makes it easier for investors to analyze and extract useful information.
What are some steps taken by both the FASB and IASB to move to fair value measurement for financial instruments? In what ways have some of the approaches differed?
The steps taken by both the FASB and IASB to move to fair value measurement for financial instruments are:
1. Companies are required to report assets at either book value or fair value, depending on the situation.
2. Categorizing to ensure that all assets are in the same class.
3. Making sure that assets in the same class receive the same valuation treatment. This provides users of the financial statements with a true value of the company’s assets.
In what ways
Assets are to be recorded and valued based of the type of asset there are.
The IFRS is basically a set of accounting rules which are issued by the IASB based in London, UK. These accounting standards have originated from its predecessor IASC defining the term IAS, which occurred in the 70’s. it was only after 2000’s that the IASB took a strong hold under the label IFRS claiming to be a lot more independent even though pertaining to its predecessor, efficiently staffed and better funded. Caffermen and zeff (2006) discuss about the gradual spread of accounting has made a considerable progress over time, and with the adoption of IFRS worldwide, accounting procedures could be smoothened.
Different assets, liabilities, and equity instruments are measured at fair value. The standards in U.S. GAAP and IFRS that require or permit fair value measurements are different. As a consequence, an asset, liability, or equity instrument that is measured at fair value in U.S. GAAP might not be measured at fair value in IFRS and vice versa. The Boards have separate projects to address the measurement basis in other standards (for
There are subtle differences between the presentation of the IFRS statement of financial position and the US GAAP balance sheet. One primary difference is that IAS 1.66-.67 requires for the statement of cash position to be classified by current or non-current assets and liabilities, while US GAAP has no requirement for the balance sheet to be classified by current or non-current assets and
The fair value of an asset is defined as ‘the price that would be received to sell an asset paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date” (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012). It is a market based measure (Averkamp, 2014). Over the past few years, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles has called for the use of fair value measurement in a company’s financial statements. This is what is referred to as the fair value principle (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012). The fair value of an asset or liability is based on an estimate of what the asset should be worth at the time of sale. This gives rise to some conflict among accounting professionals. It is believed that fair value may not be as accurate
There are several differences between the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The IFRS is considered more of a "principles based" accounting standard in contrast to U.S. GAAP which is considered more "rules based." By being more "principles based", IFRS, arguably, represents and captures the economics of a transaction better than U.S. GAAP. As a team me collaborated to answer the following seven questions.
This paper attempts to explain aspects about assets and their importance in accounting to report accurate information about the company. Assets give an indication as to the strength of the business, its ability to generate income, the capability to produce a profit and the means it has to pay its debt. Creditors and shareholders have a vested interest in making sure their notes will be paid, or profits will be generated.
Secondly, fair value model offers more accurate balance sheet and income statement. The fair value model lists investment properties on the balance sheet at their fair value. Any changes in fair value are recorded directly to the income statement as other gains or losses. Therefore, under fair value model, investors can obtain more relevant and accurate information.
There have been proposals that have been working on with regard to the replacement of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) with IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) as used in the accounting and financial reporting aspects. Such convergence requires that the functions of the GAAP standards be added to the IFRS. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) developed the IFRS which is a less-detailed financial reporting system.
IFRS 8-1: What are some steps taken by both the FASB and IASB to move to fair value measurement for financial instruments? In what ways have some of the approaches differed?
The US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is a set of international accounting rules which originated from the United States. US GAAP can be defined as a set of accounting principles, standards and procedures that companies use to compile their financial statements (Elliott & Elliott, 2008). The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the other hand are accounting rules originating from the United Kingdom. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are a set of accounting rules designed with a common global language for business affairs so that financial accounts of companies are understandable and comparable across international boundaries (Devinney, Pedersen & Tihanyi, 2010).
ACC307 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT TASK 1: Contemporary Issues of Accounting Theory Fair Value Measurement Overview After the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) released the IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement in May 2011 for the purpose of completing its joint project with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on fair value, the Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) released the Australian equivalent - AASB 13 Fair Value Measurement in the September of the same year. This standard permitted early adoption but generally started to take effect for the financial reporting periods beginning from 1 January 2013. This new standard requires no new requirement for the adoption and but it was accompanied with the issuing of AASB 2011-8 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards arising from the AASB 13 which has made consequential changes to 32 standards and 9 interpretations for the adoption in Australia. The new standard attempts to unify IFRS and US GAAP by specifying how entities should apply the fair value measurements that applied in previous IFRS standards. It clarifies and redefines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date”, sometimes referred to as an “exit price”. It also sets out a single source guidance for a robust measurement framework to ensure that the requirements are applied consistently and have clear
The FASB follows a due process in establishing a typical FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Standards. The following steps are usually taken: (1) A topic or project is identified and placed on the Board’s agenda. (2) A task force of experts from various sectors is assembled to define problems, issues, and alternatives related to the topic. (3) Research and analysis are conducted by the FASB technical staff. (4) A preliminary views document is drafted and released. (5) A public hearing is often held, usually 60 days after the release of the preliminary views. (6) The Board analyzes and evaluates the public response. (7) The Board deliberates on the issues and prepares an exposure draft for release. (8) After a 30-day (minimum) exposure period for public comment, the Board evaluates all of the responses received. (9) A committee studies the exposure draft in relation to the public
Due to the global integration of business and finance throughout the world, approximately 113 countries have adopted or are working on convergence with IFRS. This paper is a look at the history and an examination of where IFRS stands internationally and with the United States. For several decades the industrialized world has been working toward an international set of accounting standards. Since IFRS has become the de facto international accounting language, it is logical that it will be accepted as that standard in the near future.
"International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)" are an arrangement of international accounting norms expressing how specific sorts of exchanges and different occasions ought to be accounted for in money related explanations. "IFRS" are issued by the "International Accounting Standards Board", and they indicate precisely how "accountant" must keep up and report their records. "IFRS" were built up keeping in mind the end goal to have a typical "international language", so business and records can be comprehended from "organization to organization and nation to nation". (www.iasplus.com, n.d.)